Bob and Jane had been together for ten years. They each had grown up children from previous marriages and also had assets from those relationships which they had agreed would be their own separate property. They had seen their own lawyers and signed a relationship property agreement (or pre-nuptial agreement). They lived in a house which Bob owned 40% of and Jane owned 60% of and they both owned shares in a business that they had started together five years ago.
Bob and Jane were looking forward to the next few years when they would sell their business and enjoy their well-earned retirement. They each had grandchildren living overseas and they were keen to spend as much time with them as they could. In fact, they had their house on the market, intending to downsize and buy a "lock and leave".
However, one morning after walking their new puppy along Takapuna beach, Jane complained to Bob that she had a terrible headache. The next thing, Jane had collapsed on the floor and Bob rang for an ambulance. It transpired that Jane had had a cerebral stroke.
Bob was at a loss. The first thing the doctors asked was - who has power of attorney? Bob and Jane hadn't got around to sorting this out - they hadn't thought that they would need to yet as they were only in their 50's.
It wasn't just Jane's healthcare that Bob was unable to make decisions about, he soon found out that as Jane hadn't appointed an attorney in relation to property, he couldn't access her bank accounts to help with household expenses. There were also things with the company that he couldn't deal with as Jane was a 50% shareholder; and the most concerning at this stage was that he couldn't negotiate on the sale of the property as Jane owned her share in the property in her own name.
The only option was for to Bob to hire a barrister to make an application to the Court to appoint him as Jane's attorney. This was a hugely costly and frustrating experience as the consent of Jane's adult children had to be obtained before Bob could be appointed as attorney and the costs of the barrister were significant. The time delays only added to Bob's stress.
If only Jane and Bob had instructed their lawyer to prepare enduring powers of attorney. They are things that everyone should have in place as you never know when you might need to rely on them.